Prison or Buisiness?

By: Damon Allen

Over the years i heard terrifying and horrifying stories about prison. Over and over again I hear stories of inmates fearing for their life, getting no attention from correctional officers or wardens, and being taught nothing to rehabilitate their selves. And that’s when i ask myself isn't the reason for prisons is to help one rehabilitate their self? but instead of inmates being help they are being pushed away, which cause inmates to come right back to incarceration after their release in most cases.

 That’s when I ask myself is prison rehab or business? I think business, why else wouldn't prisons help inmates rehabilitate themselves and why is there more laws being created and prison time for certain times being increased, prison makes million or maybe even billions of dollars a year off of prisoners, their food, phone calls and more.

According to www.cnn.com. There are more than 2 million inmates serving time in the United States, and America has the world's highest incarceration rate, and the revolving door helps keep those prisons packed: A 2002 study by the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics found that 52 percent of released convicts were back in jail within three years.

I think people in charge of prisons should focus more on helping inmates fit back in society. Or prisoners should take it upon their self to help one another in prison with their problems and start a rehabilitative tactic on their own to help start put an end to this so called business.

The power of status and religion....

By Olaitan Okusaga

Early today, my sister came to me and ask me to tell her more on stigmatization in out society and I use a short film on the torture and murder of child designated as witches by Pentecostal priests in Nigeria. This is a perfect illustration of the way assigning statuses is a source of power as such statuses can involve stigmatization and marginalization. The latest issue of Al-Jazeera’s People and Power shows that a similar issue is present in Benin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ya8PNxuhDS8#!

The root of this is the belief, perpetuated by religious leaders of all kinds, in the supernatural. This belief is based on the idea that natural events always have supernatural explanations. Natural causes are not considered.

The question is, of course, how is this different from this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_io-3V3X6Y

Fundamentalist Christianity is of the same nature as the belief in witchcraft (replace gays with witches and you have the preferred scapegoat): supernatural causes explain everything, especially adverse events. Some of the scenes of the video above are no different that faith healers shows and rituals.

Asian Race

By: Jennifer Keo

My topic is about race.  Race is a classification of human population, being put into a more sample (smaller category) population.  they are classify into different categories by specific charactertics based on their appearances, culture, ethnically, and where they live.  There are Americans, Europeans, Asians, etc., races out in the world based on the definition of race.  People stereotype each other races' because of their misconception of the medias or their own ideas of what the race showcase or should/would be to them.  For example, people generally believe that black people are loud and rude, asian people are smart, and white people are racist or rule the world.  Not all people think this, but there are those who do, however the fact of the matter is, not all of these people within these races are any of what some people think of.  Another example, is when a person wears a glasses, people think that they are automatically smart and they should copy their homework or test from them.  Right now my topic is going to be of one race, and that will be the Asians because I'm asian and in my opinion I'm pretty good and understanding the diversity of the Asian culture. 

My topic is based on my experience and others I know who have experience the same and different stereotypical comments when people associate food and asian people.  I thought of this when my mom asked me to help her make egg rolls, knowing full well that I hate them.  When I told her for the 100th time I don't eat egg rolls, she roll her eyes and said that your not asian if you don't like egg rolls, and so on like a good mother would.  By the way, I had to go eat at McDanolds that day because my mother said she won't be making anything else, so starve (lovely).  As I was helping her make the egg rolls I wondered to myself, where in the world did she came up with that concept that every asian person loves egg rolls (like herself).  

 Soon I realizes that many people even outside the asian culture have once in their lives heard of egg rolls and assume that every asian person likes to eat them.  Whenever there are parties for anything like school's the teachers will always ask us to make egg rolls for the party, never spaghetti or rice and beans.  Generally that's what people think, and come to accept that as a fact.  later that day I was complianing to my non-asian friends and their reactions was shock.  Surprise!!  They asked me, why in the world I don't and am I not asian.  For two seconds that made me questioned that as well, but then I realize that I am my own individual and I don't have to live to everyone's else assumption or expectation because of my race.

I now recogize that people will assume certain things "to be the way" based on what they believe or see to be the way things are perceived.  In conclusion, my topic was referring to how people expect certain things from people because of their race.  This can be true for other reasons, like for people who graduated high school or didn't.  People will assume people who graduate will succeed in life, rather than those who didn't graduate.

Life is beautiful !

By: Gabrielle Cecala

    Life is a wonderful thing that many of us take for granted. To be able to smell, hear, feel, taste and see is so amazing.  The senses by themselves are completely & utterly  beautiful ! Many people  are born with disabilities and are not able to to do some or if any of these things. Some people live in absolute poverty and are not able to smell a home cooked meal, let alone eat one. Now-A-Days, We often take food, friends, love and life all for granted. There are children in the world that will never get to experience a hearty meal nor a real hug from someone who truly loves them. I know that we all have our problems, but there are others that have it so much more worse than we do. 

    Poverty stricken families are not only in 3rd world countries, but also here were we live. We pass by homeless people every day. Do you ignore their cries for change or do you give to those in need? In order to become a group or a culture, one must start it and others must follow. I speak about the homeless and hungry people because I have  helped those people. When I was younger, a few years back actually, I volunteered for 3 years at Methodist Hospital just so I can help those who are less fortunate than I am. There are people in those hospital beds that are left there to die and have no one to talk to nor visit them. I didn't know any of them , but I still cared for them as if they were my own family. I know what it is like to not have anyone and it is a terrible, miserable feeling. I have been starving with no food in my kitchen. I have seen my mother steal cat food just to feed our animals. I have been there and done that. To those of you that laugh at that, shame on you. To those of you that understand where I am coming from and what it is like to be at the lowest of low, follow with me. We don't need to give millions of dollars to charity in order to make a change. A penny can go a long way. Pennies amount to dollars. It seems as if now a days the norm is to not give to the homeless. It saddens me to see this type of behavior from people who I know and also whom I don't. Although "it's a recession" is a popular reason for not giving, through my eyes it's just a poor excuse to not give to those who need money more than we do. Next time you see someone in need, give a little .. I promise that good deed will come back to you 10 times greater.

"Rebel" Label

By: Charnise Gillis

Finding jobs for people with felonies can be one of the biggest challenges that a person may face after being released from prison. Most inmates leave prison or jail with no savings, no stable housing, no health or unemployment benefits, and very limited job possibilities

Many have mental health problems or serious medical conditions, including HIV, hepatitis, and tuberculosis.

I believe citizens should be encountered on what they are doing now, not their past. We are only humans and are suppose to make mistakes in order to learn from them. Who is society to give a person a bad label for the rest of their life? Everyone has performed some type of sin and should never look at any other sin more horrible then theirs. We wouldn’t be the beautiful person that we are without performing mistakes.

More than 50% of all convicts will return to prison within the next five years after their release.

Although society wishes not to live in the same community as felons, they do not have enough organizations to help correct the lifestyle of a criminal. Instead citizens label them as a “rebel” and can care less to give them a second chance to become a law abiding citizen. As a result, many felons are forced to repeat criminal activity in order to survive in society.

Do you think the government is doing enough to help ex- offenders stay off the streets?



Prison: A Change is Needed

By:Shante Hall

As I rode by the castle like building I recounted all the horrific stories that I had heard that went on behind the stone building. Which once symbolized a building where those who housed it would be rehabilitated and helped to fit back into society as an active and upstanding citizen, now is as brutal and dangerous as being on the streets. The lack of caring that the correctional officers, wardens, and those in power have leads the defenseless to experience gang rapes, endure brutal beatings, and die from vicious killings. Unfortunately the penal system now reflects the same places that more than half of the inmates had come from, causing a sense of comfort. With the comfort of knowing that your old friends, new friends and family will all be there once your processed or will be arriving shortly after, the fact that you will be fed and have a warm (not so comfortable) bed to sleep in every night is partially the reason why many aren’t afraid to revisit the horrific place; these "accomodations" cause the reentry into society to be extremely hard. Shortly after you’ve entered the jail-house mentality will quickly set in, the need to protect your self by any means necessary and the willingness to physically fight anyone tooth and nail for what you believe in is quickly embedded into prisoners.(causing the fights that are showen below)

The part that saddens me the most about the prison system is the wasted intelligence. The many chemists, business men, and philosophers with so much knowledge of the street life they could give classes to help other children who are also growing up in a rough environment realize there’s more to life than slinging crack rock. Barbers, lawyers, and inventors; can you imagine how intelligent the convict is who invented make shift clippers and needles for tattoos.  If those in power were to accurately assess and watch these inmates they’d to realize the intelligence they possess. And instead of investing in their downfall, more investment in there techniques  will began to take place causing a tremendous turn around in society. The investment into these inmates futures will give them a sense of hope, organizing recreational activities, more schooling oppurtuties and rewards for participation will show them a sense of self-worth, and giving the inmates a sense of responsibility will result in less time to commit "in-prison crimes."

The penal system should try harder to getting back to rehabilitation. Stop treating these inmates like caged in animals and understand that we as humans make mistakes. Give them something more to look forward to, make them choose a program once they enter the system. Assign advocates and counselors to the prisoners, there shouldn’t be an option not to get up, these inmates need structure. Because of where most of them come from structure is a virtue they lack, the feeling of someone caring and having a role model is often unheard of, so if prison is the place where they’ll get it than so be it. Prison shouldn’t be considered a place where you just serve time and receive “three hots and a cot”; it should be a much more structured environment where success is the only option. If there were more rules and regulations concerning success in the penile system the likelihood of over crowding, the brutal crimes I mentioned earlier, recidivism, and the lack of being able to fully function in the environment will be null and void.

A change is needed!

To Rehabilitate or Not To Rehabilitate

 By Aleshia Satterthwaite

Prisoners should ask themselves the question when walking in the doors of prison. Should I walk the path of rehabilitation or not walk the path of rehabilitation. The justice system in America has changed over the centuries. We have gone from the 1800s using the guillotines and hanging a criminal for petty theft to so-called “rehabilitation” of criminals. Our prison systems are flawed and have failed to prevent prisoner from becoming repeat offenders. I do not blame the prison system for the offenders actions that cause their returning to a life of crime, that is a chose that individual made.  Repeat offenders became comfortable in prison, which is why they do not hesitate to return to jail. However I do fault the system for not developing programs in the prison that humanly teach prisoners how to enter back into society. Some prisoners sadly may never be able to function in society. There norm is the behavior they learn in the prison system, which is not accepted in society.

 Some have left the prisons with knowledge of how to become a smarter criminal. Their peers have taught them how not to be caught the next time they commit a crime. I do not think prisoners should have a choice how they spend their time in prison. I feel a prisoner should have to work hard educating themselves and walk the right path. They should not just be sitting waiting for their time to end. Prisoners that exit American jails have very little chance of starting a new life after serving time. There are no jobs, and sometimes they do not have the support of family members.  Society has already labeled ex-offenders as untrusted.  That is why some prisoners do not look forward to leaving jail.

  

America must to do a better job assisting inmates to walk the correct path by developing programs that are mandatory to pass in order to make parole. Some individuals do not want to be rehabilitated, they rather be institutionalized.